Many bicycles can be characterized as having a head tube that accommodates a portion of a front wheel fork assembly, a top tube attached to the head tube and extending rearwardly therefrom, a down tube attached to the head tube below the top tube and extending downwardly and rearwardly to a bottom bracket, and a seat tube attached to the rearward end of the top tube and to the bottom bracket. The seat tube has a bore that accommodates a seat post of a bicycle seat. The seat tube provides structural support to the bicycle frame by being attached to the top tube and down tube of the frame. A chain stay rearwardly extends from the bottom bracket and is attached to a rearward end of a seat stay that is attached to the seat tube near the location that the top tube attaches to the seat tube. The junction region of the chain stay and seat stay includes a receptacle for receiving a rear wheel axle. The various tube structures of existing bicycles are typically welded together to form an integral or rigid bicycle frame.
Some bicycle frames have been designed that do not include a seat tube that extends from the bottom bracket to the top tube of the bicycle frame. These bicycles are typically high performance mountain bikes or road bikes. These seat tubeless high performance bike frames are structured to provide support to a bike rider using different configurations since they do not include a seat tube that connects the top tube and down tube or bottom bracket. For example, certain bike frames include top tubes and down tubes with larger or increased sizes compared to conventional bikes that have seat tubes connecting the top tube and bottom bracket, as described above. Other bike frames include oddly configured seat stays and tube configurations to help provide the desired support. Importantly, these high performance bike frames and bikes are meant to be as light as possible, and therefore, attempts are made to reduce the number of components provided on such bike frames and bicycles.
In view of the above, it can be appreciated that a need remains for new bicycle frames and bicycles that are appealing to consumers and that still provide sufficient structural support to a bike rider.